Choo Gim Wah Architect

Smolhaven House

Smolhaven House
© Pixelaw Photography

SMOLHAVEN HOUSE

Choo Gim Wah Architect

PRODUCTS USED IN THIS PROJECT
Fiber Cements / Cements, Equitone, Fiber Cement Facade Panel Natura

MANUFACTURERS
Equitone, Herman Miller, Kohler, Meir, Trimble Navigation, Zwsoft

INTERIOR DESIGN
Paul+pris Sdn Bhd

STRUCTURAL ENGINEER
Ng & Ng Consult

TECHNICAL DESIGNER
Tung Chee Quan

ARCHITECT IN CHARGE
Choo Gim Wah

SITE SUPERVISION & TECHNICAL DESIGN
Tung Chee Quan

CONTRACTOR
Betterment Builders Sdn Bhd

AREA
1600 ft²

YEAR
2020

LOCATION
Bentong, Malaysia

CATEGORY
Houses

Text description provided by architect.

The one-and-a-half storey, 1600-sq-ft abode adopts the stance of a hillside cabin albeit without the steep inclines and overt vernacular overtones.

Smolhaven House
© Pixelaw Photography
Smolhaven House
© Pixelaw Photography

Its modernist rectilinear form is stilted like a traditional Malay kampung house, and immense two-tier platform thrusts over lawned terraces in frozen inertia.

A corresponding pitched roof, with its 3.5-metre cantilever, enhances that captured movement to create the cabin’s dynamic silhouette.

The transparency of Smolhaven’s façades are informed in part by the roof’s wide overhangs, whose sun-shading and rain-deflecting properties facilitate the inclusion of large glazed elements.

Smolhaven House
© Pixelaw Photography
Smolhaven House
© Pixelaw Photography
Smolhaven House
© Pixelaw Photography

To the abode’s right and rear, this manifests a visually unbounded living room enclosure; tall glass doors some 2.8 metres in height fold away, uniting the indoor space to an expansive deck and its scenic surrounds.

Glass doors of the sliding variety also serve to expand to the outdoors the cabin’s single bedroom, while a panoramic view is enjoyed from the loft through fixed and top-hung windows.

Exposed brick, off-form concrete and timber are de rigueur materials in the context of Malaysian tropical modernism, and timber is certainly celebrated here.

Smolhaven House
© Pixelaw Photography
Smolhaven House
© Pixelaw Photography

Planks of seasoned merbau line the cabin’s loft, decks, spiral staircase and perimeter walkways, while golden brown nyatoh strips form an elegant soffit above.

Together with dark grey steel structures, the timbers, enclosing glass façades and building geometries contrive towards a lightweight tropical aesthetic.

Smolhaven House
© Pixelaw Photography
Smolhaven House
© Pixelaw Photography© Pixelaw Photography

While expressing its lightness, Smolhaven nevertheless retains a strong connection to the ground plane and site.

The polished concrete floor of terrazzo-like quality embodies this groundedness, as does the Equitone cladding of the front elevation.

Smolhaven House
© Pixelaw Photography
Smolhaven House
© Pixelaw Photography

Finished to a thick wall depth, the stone-grey fiber cement panels visibly anchor the building with their pronounced heft. A high rubble wall achieves a similar effect at the cabin’s rear, its strength accentuated by a massive boulder discovered on-site that singularly lends gravitas and spectacle to an open-air bathroom experience.

The lawned terraces are likewise framed by rock and rubble, their contouring of grass and earth enhancing the cabin’s hillside-retreat appearance. Beyond its corporeal elements, the cabin must serve living needs inarguably less tangible.

Smolhaven House
© Pixelaw Photography
Smolhaven House
© Pixelaw Photography

A bright indoors, for example, is essential to liveability; the full-height doors and windows invite daylight into the northeast-southwest oriented plan, the double-volume interior of living, dining, kitchen and loft illuminated throughout the day.

Another benefit conferred by these large openings is natural ventilation, which equates to fan-cooled comfort without the need for air conditioning. Beneath its large overhang, the main deck is as comfortable space for sun-lounging as it's for overnight camping.

Smolhaven House
© Pixelaw Photography
Smolhaven House
© Pixelaw Photography

The architecture of Smolhaven embodies restraint and sensibility, yet capitalizes on its openness to increasing not only its usable footprint but also its contact with nature.

It is, in its entirety, a place of family time that is for a couple, their children and one loving canine, their very own small haven.

Smolhaven House
© Pixelaw Photography


Smolhaven House
© Pixelaw Photography
Smolhaven House
© Pixelaw Photography
Smolhaven House
© Pixelaw Photography


Smolhaven House
Axonometric
Smolhaven House
Cross Section - Stack Ventilation


Smolhaven House
Plan - Mezzanine
Smolhaven House
Plan - Roof
Smolhaven House
Plan - Ground floor


Smolhaven House
Front elevation
Smolhaven House
Rear elevation
Smolhaven House
Right elevation
Smolhaven House
Plan - Site


Smolhaven House
Section A
Smolhaven House
Section B

Choo Gim Wah Architect
T +60 3 91056512
Choo Gim Wah Architect
31-1, Jln Desa Cahaya 11, Tmn, Taman Desa Bukit Cahaya, 56000 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia